Christopher Sun, PhD, BASc, is a scientist at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa Telfer School of Management. His research program aims to improve system efficiency and reduce inequity and mistrust by overcoming the barriers to developing and implementing novel artificial intelligence models (that is, algorithmically fair optimization, machine learning and deep learning models) in healthcare.
Dr. Sun joined the Heart Institute in 2022. He received his BASc in engineering science (biomedical engineering) and PhD in industrial engineering from the University of Toronto. He was also a postdoctoral fellow and visiting assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.
Professor Sun is a recipient of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship; a CIHR postdoctoral fellowship; an American Heart Association Young Investigator Award; and the 2022 Citizen CPR Foundation (CCPRF) Excellence in Education Award. In addition, he has been named to the CCPRF 40 Under 40 List (Class of 2021). He has published in leading journals, including the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, Health Affairs, and Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. His research has also been covered by the New York Times, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Huffington Post, CTV, and Reuters.
Dr. Sun’s research interests lie at the intersection of optimization, artificial intelligence, public health, and health equity. His research primarily revolves around utilizing data-driven optimization, machine learning, and simulation techniques to inform the design of healthcare systems and development of public health policies. He has conducted his research in collaboration with multiple health institutes including Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, MA, USA), Boston Emergency Medical Services (Boston, MA, USA), Israel National Emergency Medical Services (Magen David Adom, Israel), St. Michael’s Hospital (Toronto, ON, Canada), and Gentofte Hospital (Copenhagen, Denmark).
Dr. Sun has also been active in the field of resuscitation science, specifically around optimizing the response and management of cardiac arrest. His body of work in this area has been recognized internationally by organizations like the American Heart Association (AHA) and International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, which now recommend optimizing public access defibrillators placements as a potential strategy to improve cardiac outcomes. Dr. Sun has also been cited in AHA’s Interim Guidelines for Cardiac Life Support in Adults developed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Selected publications:
- Sun C.L.F., Jaffe E., and Levi R. (2022). Increased emergency cardiovascular events among under-40 population in Israel during vaccine rollout and third COVID-19 wave. Scientific Reports, 12 (1).
- Sun C. L., Li D., Zenteno A. C., Bravard M. A., Carolan P., Daily B., Elamin S., Ha J., Moore A., Safavi K., Yun B. J., Dunn P., Levi R., Richter J. M. (2022). Low volume bowel preparation is associated with reduced time to colonoscopy in hospitalized patients: a propensity matched analysis. Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology.
- Karlsson L., Sun C. L., Torp-Pedersen C., Wodschow K., Ersbøll A. K., Wissenberg M., Hansen C. M., Morrison L. J., Chan T. C., Folke F. (2021). Implications for cardiac arrest coverage using straight-line versus route distance to nearest automated external defibrillator. Resuscitation. 167, 326-335.
- Sun, C. L., Dyer, S., Salvia, J., Segal, L., Levi, R. (2021). Evidence of worse outcomes related to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest during the COVID-19 pandemic due to patient reluctance to seek care. Health Affairs, 10-1377.
- Sun, C. L., Zuccarelli, E., Zerhouni, E. A., Lee, J., Muller, J., Scott, K. M., Lujan, A. M., & Levi R. (2020). Predicting COVID-19 Infection Risk and Related Risk Drivers in Nursing Homes: A Machine Learning Approach. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 21 (11), 1533-1538.
- Sun, C. L., Karlsson, L., Morrison, L. J., Brooks, S. C., Folke, F., & Chan, T. C. (2020). Effect of Optimized Versus Guidelines‐Based Automated External Defibrillator Placement on Out‐of‐Hospital Cardiac Arrest Coverage: An In Silico Trial. Journal of the American Heart Association. 9(17),
- Leung, K. B., Sun, C. L., Yang, M., Allan, K. S., Wong, N., & Chan, T. C. (2020). Optimal in-hospital defibrillator placement. Resuscitation, 151, 91-98.
- Sun, C. L., Karlsson, L., Torp-Pedersen, C., Morrison, L. J., Brooks, S. C., Folke, F., & Chan, T. C. (2019). In Silico Trial of Optimized Versus Actual Public Defibrillator Locations. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 74(12), 1557-1567.
- Sun C. L. F., Brooks S. C., Morrison L. J., & Chan T. C. Y. (2017). Ranking businesses and municipal locations by spatiotemporal cardiac arrest risk to guide public defibrillator placement. Circulation. 135(12), 1104-1119.
- Sun C. L. F., Demirtas D., Brooks S. C., Morrison L. J., & Chan T. C. Y. (2016). Overcoming spatial and temporal barriers to public access defibrillators via optimization. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 68(8), 836-845.